Kerf-cutting machine



1943. F. A. LINDGREN 2,327,724

KEEP-CUTTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 30, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet l 1 IN vam-oa Pqqk A. Ling gran a. PM

ATTORNEY F. LIN'DGREN KERF-CUTTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 30, 1940 4Sheets-Sheet 2 QN .NN NM 2 y W N flung;

Aug, 24, 1943. F. A. LINDGREN KEEP-CUTTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 30, 1940 4Sheets-Sheet 3 F. A. LINDGREN KERF- CUTTING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4Filed Dec. 30, 1940 mzg INVCNTOR Frank A. Lindy 9. P ATTORNEY Aug.24,1943.

Patented Aug. 24, 1943 M i to Goodman Manufacturing'comlmt y 111.,aicorporationof Illinois Chicago,

Application, December 30, 1940, Serial Named 10 Claims. (01. 2 2+sqiFigure '7 is an enlarged-detail view showing This invention relates toimprovements in kerf-cutting machines of the' room and-f pill ar type. va I a 7 One of the objects of myinvention'is to provide a new andimproved kerf-cutting machine of a simplified construction includingacompact fiuid operated drive to the feed mechanism, ar-

ranged .with a viewtowa'rds simplicity and ease in operation andcontrol.

Ancther object of my invention is to provi de a novel and simplifiedform of retarding means for maintaining the machine in the proper-relationv with respect to the coal face,;jduring the cutting'operation, totake the place of theiusual separate. tail rope and retardingdrum-,wvhich includes a ground engaging member-mounted on the retreatingside of the machine andselectively operable to engage the-ground and toprovide aretarding effect on therearend of the machine. a v

A more specific object of my invention is to provide a newi formofyretarding devicefor maintaining the machine in the proper relationwith respect to: the coal facei during=cutting,' includ ing a rotatabletraction wheel adjustable-for engagement with the ground and adjustable1on gitudinally of the machine, to take care of-vary ing conditions ofcutting,'togethenwitdmeans for retarding rotation of saidtraction-wheel.

Other objects of my invention 'willrappear' fromtime to time asthefollowing' specification proceeds and iwith reference tothezgaccompanying drawings wherein: Figure-l is a fragmentary :plan viewofalk'erf cutting machine constructed in accordancewith my inventionwith certain-parts broken away"- other parts shown inhoriz'ontal secandcertain tion broken away and certain other parts shown in longitudinalsection; i

Figure. 2 is aview inside elevation of the ma chine shown 'inFigure 1,with certain parts Figure 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional viewof. the machine, taken substantially along line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 isa fragmentary longitudinal sec ti n l view ofthetm'achine,taken sulcrstantiallyi alongdineA-d of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is an'xenlarged transverse sectional View takensubstantiallyalong-line 55 of Figure 1; 2

longitudinal. sectiong" use certaindetails of the retarding device;

Figure 8 is a diagrammatic the fluid circuit; and; a

Figure19 .is .adiagrammatic .view showing the machine cutting across acoal face and illustrating certain positions thereof during'cutting withvarying lengths of. cutter bars. i In thedrawings, .the .embodiment ofmy invention" illustrated "includes .an underframe ;formed from a bottomplate l0; herein shown :view: illustrating asm'being in two. sectionsand extending the I length of the machine and having upturned side WallsH,1l l forming asupport for a motor !2 'at the front thereof and foraframe and gear housing I3 at the rear thereof; isadapted to; houseandtform a bearing supporting means for the drive from said motor tothe. feed; gearing andcutter chain drive mechanism, as will hereinafterbe Emore fully described as this specification proceeds.

- A 'cutter bar generally. indicated .iby reference character It ismountedgon the, underside of the motor I21 and, gear housing I 3, andprojects forwardly. from; the forward Vendofsaid motor.

Said cutter bar is of a usualconstruction having a. channelledguide-extending along the periphw ery thereof, for guiding a cutterchain l1 for orbital movement thereabout in a closed path, Thearrangement of the; side walls I], H and themounting of the cutter baron the underside ofthe motorcasing are such that the cutter chain movesin the space between the top of'said bottom plate ,andthe bottom of saidmotor and gear housing to a point adjacentthe rear end of saidunderfr'amafor discharging cuttings from the rear end of the machine.

.A cutter chain drive sprocket Iii-meshes with the. cutter. chain I! andforms aidrive means therefor. Said sprocket is keyed on the lower end'ofa vertical shaft 20, journaled in the frame and gear housing |3.- Saidvertical shaft is disposed adjacent. the rear end of said gear housingandisjournaled in said gear housing on spaced bearings 2 I 2 I disposedjust above the hub of thesprocket I9 andltheother'is disposed at theupper end of said vertical shaft and is mounted in a bearingsupport'iportion 22 of the frame l3. A hub 23 of. a bevel gear. 24 isjournaled on said vertical shaft and has a 'clutch member 25 splinedthereon. "IhegjaW .10f ;said clutch member are adapted to engage jaws26, 26, formed in 'aclutch member 21 secured to said vertical shaft, for

selectively driving said shaft and the sprocket |9 from saidibevelgearSaid housing One, of saidbearingsis The truck and truck drive are nopart of my pressent invention so are not herein shown or described.

A winding drum 35, having a flexible cable adapted tobe wound thereon,is provided to sump the cutter bar endwise into the coal face, and

to feed said cutter bar laterally across the coal face when sumpedtherein. Said winding drum, as herein shown, is freely mounted on oneside of the, frame .and gear housing I 3 on a. transversely disposedstub shaft 31, mounted in said frame and gear housing (see Figure 1).

Referring now in particular to the novel and compact form of fluid drivefrom the motor I2 to the winding drum 35, the armature pinion 29. mesheswith and drives a spur gear 39 on a longitudinal shaft 40. Saidlongitudinal shaft forms a drive shaft for a pair of tandem pumps 4| and42, adapted tosupply fluid under pressure to a fluid motor '45. ofanywell known type, but are herein shown as being rotary sliding vanetypes of pumps of a well known construction. Each of said pumps is of adifferentcapacity so that one of said pumps may drive the fluid motorand winding drum 35 at one speed and the other pump may drive said fluidmotor and winding drum at a lower feeding speed. Pressure pipes 43, 43lead from said pumps to a valve 44, herein shown as being a simple formof 4-way valve, having connection with the pressure side of the fluidmotor 45,.for driving said motor.

The fluid motor 45 may be of an ordinary rotary type well known-t0 thoseskilled in the art, so willnot herein be shown in detail. Alongitudinally extending shaft 41 is journaled in said gear housing;coaxially with the drive shaft of said fluid motor, and has connectionwith said drive shaft through a couplinggenerally indicated by referencecharacter 48. Said longitudinal shaft has a worm 49 mounted thereon,which meshes with and drives a worm gear 50 on a transverse shaft 5|.Said transverse shaft is suitably journaled in said gear housing, and asherein shown has a gear 53 formed integral with the outer end thereof.Said gear forms a drive means for a planetary geared reduction device 54and meshes with planetary pinions 55, 55 mounted on stub shafts 56, 56.Said stub shafts are mount'ed in a cage 51, of said planetary. Saidplanetary pinions mesh with an internal gear 59 forming a reactionmember for said planetary and secured to a frame portion 68 of said gearhousing. The cage 5'! is herein shown as having a sleeve 6] formedintegral therewith and journaled in said gear housing. A spur pinion 63is formed integrally with said sleeve and meshes with an internal gear64 rotatably mountedwithin a flanged portion 85 of the winding druml35.A driVing'pin-GB is mounted in a webbed portion -6'l of said windingdrum and is adapted to have engagement with either one of a plurality ofapertures, 68 formed in the web of said internal gear, and

Said pumps may be forms a means for selectively connecting said,

internal gear with said winding drum.

The fluid connections from the pumps 4| and 42 to the fluid motor 45through the valve 44 are illustrated in Figure 8, and are so arrangedthat when said valve is in position to connect one of said fluid pumpsto the fluid motor 45, the pressure 'side of the other fluid pump willbe connected to a fluid storage tank 69, and vice versa. Thus, the fluidmotor 45 may be driven from one of said fluid pumps at a relatively highrate of speed, for driving'the winding drum at a high positioning speed,for transporting-the machine about the mine on its own bottom andpositioning it for cutting in the coal face, or

said fluid motor may be driven through the other. fluid pump, fordriving said winding drum at a low feeding speed, for feeding themachine across the coal face. by means of the flexible cable v36. 3

Referring now to the novel form of retard-H. ing device, for maintainingthe machine in sub:

stantially. perpendicular relation with respect to the co face, uringcutt n across a coal face, a depressible retardin device 10 is providediSaid retarding device is herein shown as being .a traction wheel adaptedto be -en-. V gaged by a friction band 1!, for retarding ro tationthereof. Said traction wheel is: freely rod and engaging the undersideof said cally extending supporting frame.

The piston rod 16 depends from a piston I8,

mounted in a vertically extending cylinder 80. Said Cylinder ismountedin a guide 84, extending along the, gear housing 13, forlongitudinal ad-" justment with respect. to the machine.- A guide plate85 is herein shown as being formedintegral Y with the cylinder and asextending laterally beyond thesidesof said cylinder and forwardly andrearwardly therefrom. Said guide plate slidably engages the guide 84 andis held in engage-' ment therewith by means of retaining gibs'86; 88.

The guide plate 85 is provided with a depend-1 ing wall portion 81extending' -a'rou'nd the trac-E tion wheel 10 and frame 15, and havingan ar- ..cuate outer. face 88 extending outwardly beyond the retreatingside. of the frame l3. v

ortion en agesan outer curved portion as ofth'e frame 15, to form acurved guide therefor duringpivotal movement ofsaidframe and thetraction it is cutting ossa coal face, 1

A threaded shaftSD isprovided to: a'djiistably 'move the traction wheelIII longitudinallysofltlie frame l3, to adjust said wheel to placetherequirfid dragon the machine during cuttingacross} the coal face (seeFigure..2)L As hereinxsho'wm .said snail; as threadedensasement'withwboss 9i, projecting upwardly from the rear end of the guide plate85 and journaled in a rear wall pertion 92 of the frame, I3. Said shafthas re squaredouter end-9 3, adapted to beengagedbw .,a suitable handcrank (not shown):, for.rotatahly.;; 75

turning said shaft and slidably moving the guide Said wall 1 Said swivled mountingiforsaid. trac tion wheel thus permits said tractionwheel-t0 conform to the path of the miningmachineasplate 85 and cylinder30 in the guide 84', in an obvious manner.

The friction band H has a plurality of lugs 94, 94, projecting fromopposite sides thereof.

One ofsaid lugs is adapted to engage a lug 9B in a rear wall 9'! of theframe 15, and the other of said lugs is adapted to engagea lug 98project-V, ing inwardly from the. outwardly curved wall 89 of saidframe. A threaded rod 99 has pivotal connection with an inner end ofsaid friction band and extends through a. lug I00, secured to theopposite end, ofsaid friction band. A hand wheel is threaded on the endof said rod and.

abuts a collar Hi2 encircling said rod and abutting the outer end of thelug 100. The collar l02.is

from the valve 44 to a valve I06, which is herein preferably shown asbeing a 4-Way valve. v v flexible pipe or conduit It? leads from said,valve to thehead end of said cylinder, for moving said piston in adownward direction. A flexiblepipe or conduit E08 leads from said valveto the piston rod end of said cylinder, for elevating said tractionwheel. A discharge pipe I Eis leadsfrom said valve to the tank 69. Thevalve we is so arranged that When in one position, "fluid will besupplied to the head end of the cylinder 8B, and. exhausted from thepiston rod end thereof through the discharge pipe H19, .and when inanother position fluid will be supplied to the opposite end of saidcylinder and exhausted from the head end thereof, through the dischargepipe I09. cylinder, to hold said piston and retarding device in thedesired position of adjustment, said valve [66 isturned to anintermediate position, to close the ports leading to the pipes Nil andI08.

Referring now inparticular-to Figure 9, illustrating the use andoperation of the retarding device, when the average machine is cuttingacross the coal face as indicated .at A, the cutting force on theadvance side ofthe cutter bar in many cases is substantially equal tothefrictional resistance of the rear end 'of the machine against theground, especiallywhen this cutter bar is relatively short. In caseslike this, the friction band ll may be disengaged from the retardingWheel It, to permit free rotation thereof. When, however, a hard spot isencountered in the coal, increasing the resistance against the advanceside of the cutter bar, the tendency will be for the machine frame totravel ahead of the cutter bar. through this hard spot, the pressure onthe advance side of the cutter bar will be relieved, but unless thefrictional resistance of the machine against the ground is greater thanthe force exerted against the forward end of the cutter bar, theinclination of the machine with respect to the coal face will continueto increase during the remainder of the cutting operation, thusreducingthe cutting effectiveness of the cutter bar, and in severecutting conditions causing the entire cutter bar to withdraw from thecoal face. In order to provide this frictional resistance and retardtravel of the rear end of the machine, the friction band ll may beapplied to the retarding wheel 19, said wheel being in engagement withWhen it is desired to hold pressure in said.

After the cutter chain has cut the ground; The amount of pressure withwhich said friction. band engages said Wheel may be varied to? theextent necessary to. provide the desired degree of resistance inrotation of said wheel, and to maintain the machine substantiallyperpendicular tothe coal face. Said wheel may; also be moved.longitudinally of the machineptoprovide resistance against the ground atthe, required point; r

The machine shown by broken lines at B in,

Figure 9 is provided with a longer cutter bar than normal: If themachine is cutting from right to left, it will normally assume aforwardly inclined position with respect to the coal face, and

will have a tendency tocontinue to pivot in the may be vmoved rearwardlyalong the machine frame in the guide 84, as indicated by diagram C;inFigure 9, to increase the retarding effect of the Wheel 70 an amountsufficient to bring the machine and cutter bar to a normal orsubstantially perpendicular position with respect to the coal face. v

v The retarding device thus eliminates the trainin of a tail rope fromthe machine and the setting of a jack therefor, and is readily adaptableto varying conditions and degrees of cutting, thus facilitating thecutting operation.

.If it is desired to tilt the machine about the advance side thereof, toprevent the cutter bar from rising inthe coal face, during the cuttingoperation, fluid under pressure may be admitted to the head end of thecylinder 8!] until the retarding wheel 10 raises the retreating side ofthe machine about the advance side thereof.

While I have herein shown and described one form in which my inventionmay be embodied, it will be understood that the construction thereof andthe arrangementof the Various parts may Furthermore, I do not wish to beconstrued as limiting my inventionto the specific embodimentillustrated, excepting as it maybe limited in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention: a i i i 1. Ina kerf-cutting machine, a windingdrum having a flexible feeding member adapted to be Wound thereon forfeeding said kerf-cutting machine across a coal face, and means forretarding forward travel of the rear end of said kerfcutting machineduring cutting across a coal face including a rotatable retarding memberadapted to have engagement with the ground, and means for restrainingrotation of said retarding memher.

2. In a kerf-cutting machine, a winding drum having a flexible feedingmember adapted to be Wound thereon, for feeding said kerf-cuttingmachine across a coal face, and means for maintaining said kerf-cuttingmachine in the proper relation with respect to the coal face duringcutting across a coal face including a retarding member mounted on theretreating side of said Keri-cutting machine, for adjustable engagementwith the ground and for adjustment longitudinally of said kerf-cuttingmachine and arranged to exert sufficient frictional resistance againstthe ground to retard travel of the rear end of the machine.

'3. In a kerf-cutting machine, a winding drum having a flexible feedingmember adaptedtobe wound thereon, for feeding saidkerf-cuttingma chineacross a coal face, and means for retard-' ing forward travel ofthe-rear end of said kerfcutting machine during cutting across a coalface including a rotatable retarding memberadapted to have engagementwith the ground, means for restraining rotation of said retardingmember, and other means for adjustably moving said retarding memberlongitudinally with respect to said machine, for varying the retardingeffect thereof; j

5. In a kerf-cutting machine, a winding drum having a flexible feedingmember adapted tobe wound thereon, for feeding said kerf-cutting machineacross a coal face, andmeans for retarding forward travel of the'rearend of said kerfcuttingmachine during cutting across a coal faceincluding a rotatable retarding wheel engageable with the ground andmounted for adjustable pivotal movement about a vertical axis.

6, In a, kerf-cutting machine, a winding drum having a flexible feedingmember adaptedto bewound thereon, for feeding said kerf-cutting machineacross a coal face, means for retarding for- Ward travel of the rear endof said kerf-cutting machine during cutting across a coal face includingarotatable retarding wheel engageable with the ground and mounted foradjustable pivotal'movement about a vertical axis, and means forrestraining rotation of said retarding wheel, when in engagement withthe-ground.

' '7. In a kerf-cutting machine, a winding drum having a flexiblefeeding member adapted to-be wound thereon, for feeding saidkerf-cutting machine across a coal face, and means for retarding-forwardtravel of the' 'rear end of saidkerfcuttingmachine during cutting acrossa'coal race including a rotatable traction wheel havingengagementwiththe ground and mounted for pivotal movement about a vertical axis, meansfor.-

retarding rotation of said traction wheel, and means for adjustablyvmoving said retarding wheel longitudinally with respect to said frame,-to vary I the retarding action thereof.

8. Ina kerf-cutting machine, a frame, a winding drum. mounted on saidframe and having a flexible feeding member wound thereon for feed ingsaid kerf-cutting machine across a coal face, and means for retardingforward travel of the rear end of saidkerf-cutting machine duringcutting across a coal faceincluding a rotatable retarding wheel mountedat one side of the ma-,

chine and having rotatable engagement with the ground and mounted forpivotal movement about a vertical axis, means for adjustably moving saidretarding wheel longitudinally with respect to said frame to varytheretarding action thereof, other means for retarding rotation of saidwheel,

and means for adjustably moving said retarding Wheel in a verticaldirection to engage'said wheel with the ground with varying degrees 'ofpressureand -to tilt said'kerf-cutting machine about the side thereofopposite from said retarding wheel:

9. In a kerf-cutting machine, a winding drum having a flexible feedingmember adapted tobe wound thereon, for feeding said kerf-cutting machineacross a coal face, and means for maintaining said kerf-cutting machinesubstantially perpendicular to the coal face, during cutting across 'acoal face, including a'rotatable retarding member engageable with theground, and'cone trol means for said retarding member, for vary ing theretardingaction thereof.

'10. In a kerf-cutting'machine, a winding drum having'a flexible feedingmember adapted'to be wound thereon, for feeding said kerf-cuttingmachine across a coal face, and means for main-r taining saidkerf-cutting machine substantially perpendicular to the coal face,during cutting across a coal face, including 'a rotatable retard-' ingmember, means for movingsaid retarding member vertically for engagingsaid retarding member with the ground, and a manually con trollablefriction member engageable with said retarding member, for varying theretarding action thereof.

l FRANK A. LINDGREN.

